diff --git a/ssh-agent.c b/ssh-agent.c
index 2c0e286..28bf6ac 100644
--- a/ssh-agent.c
+++ b/ssh-agent.c
@@ -1173,7 +1173,10 @@ main(int ac, char **av)
 
 	if (agentsocket == NULL) {
 		/* Create private directory for agent socket */
-		strlcpy(socket_dir, "/tmp/ssh-XXXXXXXXXX", sizeof socket_dir);
+		char *tmpdir = getenv("TMPDIR");
+		if (!tmpdir)
+			tmpdir = "/tmp";
+		snprintf(socket_dir, sizeof socket_dir, "%s/ssh-XXXXXXXXXX", tmpdir);
 		if (mkdtemp(socket_dir) == NULL) {
 			perror("mkdtemp: private socket dir");
 			exit(1);